Mitt: Iran strike may not be needed

ABOARD THE ROMNEY CAMPAIGN PLANE — ­ Mitt Romney said that military action to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon may not be necessary, though he still pledged to take a tough line against the nation if elected president.

“I do not believe that in the final analysis we will have to use military action. I certainly hope we don’t have to,” Romney told reporters on Friday.

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“I can’t take that option off the table — it must be something which is known by the Iranians as a possible tool to be employed to prevent them from becoming nuclear. But I certainly hope that we can prevent any military action from having to be taken.”

The GOP nominee’s statements came after Romney and President Barack Obama both spoke Friday by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a day after Netanyahu warned of Iran’s nuclear ambitions during a speech this week to the United Nations General Assembly.

“We spoke about his assessment of where the red line ought to be drawn and my own views with regards to Iran,” Romney said, noting the two also covered other Middle East developments in Syria and Egypt.

Asked if there was any daylight between himself and Netanyahu on thresholds for military intervention in Iran, Romney replied, “We did not go into enough, into the kind of detail that would define precisely where that red line would be.”

Romney has taken a tough posture towards Iran, calling it the top U.S. national security priority. He has also supported the right of Israel to unilaterally defend itself by intervening militarily to disarm a nuclear Iran.

“If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability the governor would respect that decision,” top Romney adviser Dan Senor said during a July trip by the GOP nominee to Israel.

On Friday, Romney said as president he would undertake “extensive covert activity” if he were president and leaving open the door to U.S. military action if that country continues pushing development of nuclear weapons.

Speaking to reporters while en route to Boston, the Republican presidential nominee outlined his Iran agenda when asked how his policy differs from that of the Obama administration.

“There would be extensive covert activity, but I’m not aware of the president’s and our administration’s covert actions to an extent to be able to define differences between the two of us in that regard,” Romney said.